germany

Apple just scored an important victory in its ongoing patent battle with Motorola Mobility.

The Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court earlier today ruled that Motorola Mobility will not be allowed to enforce its standard, essential patents against Apple in Germany as long as the companies are engaged in an appeal to an earlier ruling. FOSS Patents was the first to report on the development.

An Apple spokeswoman today directed CNET to an earlier statement the company made, claiming Motorola Mobility is abusing the patent system.

"Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared … Read more

Will Motorola Mobility's smartphones get shut out of the German market? Probably not.

But that is the latest breathless headline flying around the Interwebs. A German court ruled that Motorola's smartphones infringed on Apple's slide-to-unlock technology, or the swipe that your finger makes on your phone to get it out of its lock screen. As a result, the court has placed in injunction, or ban, on Motorola smartphones.

Only the ban may not stick. Motorola will certainly appeal the ruling, which could hold up the ultimate decision for another few months. Or it could work on a … Read more

Apple filed a new lawsuit against Motorola Mobility today, targeting the company's patent licensing agreement with Qualcomm.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of California and first reported by Reuters, takes aim at Motorola for being in breach of a licensing agreement both companies have with Qualcomm for the use of the company's wireless patents.

One of the patents mentioned in the suit (PDF) is the same one used by Motorola in its lawsuit against Apple in Germany last month. In this new filing, Apple asks the court to prohibit Motorola from making that claim in its … Read more

Chrome comes to Android with one gigantic caveat. Or maybe two. And we are joined by cell phone expert Jessica Dolcourt who gives us her personal opinion of Android.

NEWS:

-Three years on, Chrome at last arrives on Android

-Verizon Galaxy Nexus loses Google support

-Google Voice gets the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment

-Motorola patent license will cost Apple 2.25% of sales

-Google secretly testing pair of connected devices

-An Android tablet for the tub

-Superslim Samsung Galaxy S III could drop in May… Read more

Apple's attempt to keep Samsung from selling its Galaxy 10.1N tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the country was rejected today.

"Samsung has shown that it is more likely than not that the patent will be revoked because of a technology that was already on the market before the intellectual property had been filed for protection," said Munich Regional Court Judge Andreas Mueller, according to Bloomberg.

Apple originally took aim at Samsung's devices--particularly the Tab--for bearing resemblence to its own products. Apple won an early injunction against Samsung's tablet in the country, forcing it … Read more

Samsung has been dealt another blow in Germany.

The Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf today upheld an earlier injunction, requested by Apple and imposed by a lower court on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, saying that the tablet violates a German anti-competition statute. In addition, the court said that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is also in violation of the law.

FOSS Patents today was first to report on the ruling.

In September, Judge Joahnna Brueckner-Hoffman ruled that there is a "clear impression of similarity" between Apple's iPad and the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and … Read more

When you're a passenger onboard an airplane, you have no choice but to put all your faith and trust in the pilots. And most of the time, there's nothing to worry about. But sometimes, it's probably better that you don't know exactly what those in the cockpit are dealing with.

For those flying into Dusseldorf, Germany during strong crosswinds, that seems especially true. A video (see below) put together by YouTube user Cargospotter that's making the rounds right now would seem likely to terrify anyone thinking of flying there: the video, a compilation of landings … Read more

Apple has once again reached out to the greener side of our sympathies, this time by implementing its recycling program for iPads and iPhones in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

The recycling program, extended to iPads and iPhones in the United States this summer, allows customers with older-model iOS devices to send them in to Apple and receive an Apple gift card in return for the remaining value of the device.

In Germany, France, and the U.K., customers will get a direct deposit into their bank accounts for the value as opposed to a gift card, according to … Read more

HTC may not be able to sell smartphones in Germany in the run-up to Christmas, after the patent licensing company IPCom said it would start enforcing an earlier infringement ruling against HTC.

The judgment was actually handed down almost three years ago, when a Mannheim court said HTC was infringing on a crucial mobile telephony patent that IPCom acquired from Bosch. HTC appealed, putting off the effects of the judgment, and that appeal was due to be played out in court starting today.

However, the Taiwanese manufacturer dropped its appeal at the 11th hour. Although HTC disputes this interpretation, IPCom … Read more